Git Merge vs Rebase

Git Merge

The git merge command integrates changes from one branch into another. It creates a new commit combining histories of both branches.

• Use for combining feature branches into mainline
• Preserves commit history
• May create merge conflicts to resolve manually

Git Rebase

The git rebase command reapplies commits on top of another base branch, creating a linear history.

• Use for cleaner history before merging
• Can rewrite commits, so avoid rebasing public branches
• Resolve conflicts during rebase using git rebase --continue

Merge vs Rebase

• Merge: Keeps full history, may create extra merge commits
• Rebase: Linear history, rewrites commit order, cleaner log
• CI/CD pipelines often prefer rebasing feature branches onto main

Conflict Resolution

• Conflicts occur when changes overlap between branches
• Use git status and git diff to identify conflicts
• After fixing, run git add and git merge --continue or git rebase --continue